The first round of the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section playoffs has officially wrapped up, and out of the three local teams that have participated, two teams advanced to the second round.
Here’s a look at the first-round matchups:
West Ranch 18, Chaparral 12
In the first round of the Division 4 playoffs, West Ranch won on the road in overtime as they defeated the Chaparral Pumas and advanced to the second round.
“It’s a great feeling. Playoff football is intense, and Chaparral is a well-coached team,” West Ranch head coach Mark Hornberger said. “Hats off to them but we’re so proud of our girls and the way they’ve battled.”
The Wildcats won off a Kara Carnes touchdown pass to Savannah Patton, and the West Ranch defense closed the game out in the third overtime over Chaparral.
With the win, the Wildcats will return home and host the Inglewood Sentinels at West Ranch High School in the second round.
“We’re excited for the challenge and grateful we didn’t have to travel this time,” Hornberger said in response to the team getting to host in the next round. “It’s back to the drawing board as we gear up for another tough matchup against Inglewood … We have to stay sharp, detailed and fully focused. We aim to do that on Saturday.”
The Wildcats play on Saturday against Inglewood at West Ranch High School with the game set to begin at 5 p.m.
Castaic 25, Highland 24
In the team’s first postseason appearance, the Coyotes defeated the Highland Bulldogs on the road and advanced to the second round in the Division 5 playoffs.
The Castaic girls’ flag football team earned a playoff bid finishing with an 8-6 Foothill League record and fourth in the league standings.
“Even as a new team, making the playoffs was the goal we set at the beginning of the summer,” Castaic head coach William Jones said. “To see our team’s resilience and, hard work, determination and commitment to learning the game and playing it at a high-level payoff in a very difficult game versus a talented opponent was amazing.”
On Tuesday night, the Coyotes came away with a narrow 25-24 win and will face the Wilson Wildcats at Castaic High School on Saturday.
“I’m extremely happy that Castaic High School gets to host a CIF-SS playoff game,” Jones said. “This is huge for not only our team, but our school as a whole and this community. ‘Coyote Country’ gets overlooked sometimes because we are a fairly new school, but I think this team, our team is helping to put us in the map in a positive way.”
The Coyotes play on Saturday against Wilson at Castaic High School with the game set to begin at 5 p.m.
Royal 21, Hart 20
The Hawks were the only team to host a playoff game this week out of the Santa Clarita Valley teams, but fell to the Royal Highlanders on Tuesday night in the first round of the Division 4 playoffs.
“Last night was one of the toughest losses I’ve experienced,” Hart head coach Josh Masmela said. “To claw our way back from a nine-point deficit and our offense put together a string of offensive drives, and gives us the lead, and just come up short stings.”
Hawks quarterback Hannah Cook shined in the defeat as she threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns, but her performance was not enough to overcome Royal.
With the loss, the Hawks’ season comes to an end following a second-place finish in the Foothill League standings and 17 total wins in the regular season.
“Our defense was the backbone this entire season, but some key injuries had us coaches scrambling to put together a starting defense,” Masmela said. “I loved how some of our girls gave everything they got and left everything on the field that night. But I couldn’t be more proud of our team. We had a successful season in our eyes.”
